Government shutdown only hours away in Washington DC
A right-wing revolt has left Congress unable to fund federal agencies before a Saturday midnight deadline.
2023-09-30 12:57
Tom Cruise left 'Mission Impossible 7' crew in 'absolute terror' with his death-defying stunts
'Mission Impossible 7' director Christopher McQuarrie has narrated the behind-the-scenes experience of shooting stunt scenes with Tom Cruise
2023-07-01 20:23
Vegan landlady roasted for banning tenants from cooking meat and fish in their own home
A landlady has been accused of “outrageous” and “control freakish” behaviour for setting unusually harsh restrictions for prospective tenants. The homeowner used an estate agent to advertise her two “spacious, sun-drenched” apartments in Brooklyn, New York, which were valued at $4,500 (£3,580) and $5,750 (£4,490) per month. When you’re charging such eye-watering rates, you’d hope these flats – with “spectacular outdoor spaces” – would be pretty exceptional homes. And yet, for many interested parties, the dream was shattered when they spotted that the “wonderful vegan landlord” had one eye-catching house rule: “No meat/fish in the building." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Andrea Kelly, the agent managing the flat, explained to the New York Times (NYT) why the landlady had made such a strict stipulation. She told the paper that the apartments weren’t, technically, “vegetarian-only,” but added that “the owner lives in the building and doesn’t want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs.” To be fair, this means that tenants could enjoy the likes of sushi, ham sandwiches and even meaty takeaways without causing a scene. But woe betide anyone harbouring hopes of a Sunday roast or sausages barbecued in their “spectacular outdoor space”. The owner, Michal Arieh Lerer, refused to speak to a NYT reporter about her controversial regulation, but her ex-husband, who co-owns the building and is also vegan, admitted that they’d refused to rent their property out to keen carnivorous cooks since they bought it in 2007. “It’s not about discrimination,” ex-husband Motti Lerer insisted. “You have to fit into the building.” For anyone wondering whether this could legally be classed as discrimination, the answer is, perhaps surprisingly, no. New York’s Human Rights Law lists 14 characteristics that landlords must not consider when choosing a potential tenant. These include age, race, family status, and sexual orientation – there's no mention of dietary preferences. Lucas A. Ferrara, an adjunct professor at New York Law School told the NYT that an interested renter might be able to fight the meat ban if they could prove that they had a medical condition which required some sort of “reasonable accommodation” on the landlord’s part. Still, we’re not familiar with many illnesses whose sufferer needs to regularly fry steaks or grill fish as a matter of urgency. The original listing which caused such a stir was taken down from nextdoor.com on Friday, a day after it was posted. However, the apartments are still listed on the estate agent’s own site, although there’s no mention of the cooked veg-only policy. The listings do note: “Cats welcome on a case-by-case basis (only one, please).” We just hope those felines are happy to forgo mouse hunts or particularly pungent meal pouches, for their sake. Social media commentators have shared their horror at the meat-free rule, with a number suggesting Lerer "shouldn't be a landlord". One Facebook user wrote: "[She] can’t just tell people they can’t cook meat in a home they rent off [her]. It’s like telling a kid they can not play with toys." Another said: "Well I hope they/them enjoy paying the mortgage when they get no tenants." But a third suggested tenants should just find a way around the restrictions. "[Her] property, [her] rules," they pointed out, before adding: "If you lie to [her] and cook meat while [she] doesn't get to know then it's a win-win situation." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-19 16:27
'Take every dime he’s got!': Rudy Giuliani slammed as 'The View' host Ana Navarro announces his defamation lawsuit ruling on social media
'Trump and his posse of human excrement terrorized those two women just for doing their job,' 'The View' host Ana Navarro said after the verdict was announced
2023-09-01 11:46
Today’s Jill Martin says she's 'grateful to be back' as she hosts shopping segment after breast cancer diagnosis
Jill Martin shared her excitement about returning to the show in a new behind-the-scenes video
2023-08-09 11:24
'Shaft' star Richard Roundtree, considered the first Black action movie hero, has died at 81
Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor for Black filmmakers who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in the 1971 action movie “Shaft” and several sequels, has died
2023-10-25 13:57
A Texas zoo is mourning the death of its 31-year-old giraffe, Twiga
A Texas zoo has announced the death of its 31-year-old giraffe, Twiga, saying she was believed to have been one of the oldest in captivity.
2023-07-10 05:51
Julia Ormond sues Harvey Weinstein saying he assaulted her; accuses CAA, Disney, Miramax of enabling
Actor Julia Ormond has filed a lawsuit in New York accusing disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in 1995 and then hindering her career
2023-10-05 10:23
Judge blocks Arkansas law criminalizing libraries and bookstores for providing 'harmful' books to minors
A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked portions of an Arkansas law that would have made it a crime for librarians and bookstores to provide minors with materials deemed "harmful" to them.
2023-07-31 08:50
Jennifer Kesse: Missing Florida woman’s family hopes DNA evidence will revive her 2006 disappearance case
Kesse was only 24 years old when she mysteriously disappeared from her condo in Orlando, Florida on January 24, 2006
2023-09-25 19:46
Stock market today: Asian stocks mixed after China reports weak July data and cuts key interest rate
Asian stock markets are mixed after China reported weak July consumer and business activity and its central bank cut a key interest rate to shore up the struggling economy
2023-08-15 13:16
‘65 is relatively young’: Andie MacDowell trolled for looking older than her age, not coloring her hair
The 65-year-old was in Cannes on May 23 when she was photographed in her all-natural look
2023-05-26 18:53
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